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thaurisil's review against another edition
4.0
While I read through Agatha Christie's novels with the Appointments with Agatha group, I'm putting a templated synopsis of each novel in my review. It has spoilers!
Book: 5 of Christie's novels, 1 of Superintendent Battle novels
Setting: Chimneys
Detective and Companions: Anthony Cade, Virginia Revel, Superintendent Battle
Crime: People want to steal a manuscript and a bundle of letters. A waiter is shot, then Prince Michael of Herzoslovakia is shot in Chimneys. King Victor, a criminal, is thought to be behind the events, but which one of the suspects is King Victor?
Suspects:
- Hiram Fish, an American collector of first editions
- Herman Isaacstein, a British oil businessman
- Mademoiselle Brun, a French governess
- Monsieur Lemoine, Sûreté detective
- Anthony Cade
- Baron Lolopretjzyl, representative of the Loyalist Party of Herzoslovakia
- various Comrades of the Red Hand
Sort of suspects but never suspected:
- Lord Caterham, owner of Chimneys
- Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent, his daughter
- George Lomax, a British politician
- Bill Eversleigh, Lomax's secretary
- Boris Anchoukoff, Prince Michael's valet
Twists and Turns:
- Who expected Anthony Cade to be Prince Nicholas Obolovitch, Prince Michael's cousin and heir to the Herzoslovakian throne? I certainly didn't.
- Mademoiselle Brun's name is seemingly cleared when Anthony Cade gets her credentials from her former employer and she hardly appears in the rest of the novel, but she turns out to be the former Queen Varaga of Herzoslovakia who staged her death, and an accomplice of King Victor.
- The bundle of love letters supposedly written by Virginia Revel are not written by her at all. Instead of being an innocent bundle of letters, they turn out to be letters that Queen Varaga wrote in code to King Victor.
- The suspicious peeping Frenchman who seems to be a suspect turns out to be Monsieur Lemoine, a French detective. But there's a second twist. He's not the detective after all, but King Victor himself. The real Monsieur Lemoine was kidnapped.
- Hiram Fish's actions are rather suspicious, and being a collector of first editions is a masquerade. But he turns out to be an American detective.
- All those Comrades of the Red Hand who appear at the start are thugs, but they barely feature in this story that focuses on royalty and aristocracy.
- Both the loyalists and the revolutionists want to steal Count Stylptich's memoirs, apprehensive of the secrets they will reveal, but they turn out to be boring reflections on statecraft.
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is rather silly, but so are the plots of several of the other early Agatha Christie books like The Secret Adversary and The Man in the Brown Suit. I just take the silliness in my stride, not overthink things that would be serious to us but that Christie treats with frivolity, laugh at the quirky characters, accept that racism was widespread and accepted in that era, and just enjoy the books as cozy reading.
I really liked Anthony Cade. He's another one of the Christie's early over-confident characters, but unlike some of the others who are arrogant, Anthony is just a brave, talented and daring fellow. Virginia Revel, with her brains and wit, made an excellent companion. I can't imagine the two as King and Queen of Herzoslovakia, but they seem up to the task!
Book: 5 of Christie's novels, 1 of Superintendent Battle novels
Setting: Chimneys
Detective and Companions: Anthony Cade, Virginia Revel, Superintendent Battle
Crime: People want to steal a manuscript and a bundle of letters. A waiter is shot, then Prince Michael of Herzoslovakia is shot in Chimneys. King Victor, a criminal, is thought to be behind the events, but which one of the suspects is King Victor?
Suspects:
- Hiram Fish, an American collector of first editions
- Herman Isaacstein, a British oil businessman
- Mademoiselle Brun, a French governess
- Monsieur Lemoine, Sûreté detective
- Anthony Cade
- Baron Lolopretjzyl, representative of the Loyalist Party of Herzoslovakia
- various Comrades of the Red Hand
Sort of suspects but never suspected:
- Lord Caterham, owner of Chimneys
- Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent, his daughter
- George Lomax, a British politician
- Bill Eversleigh, Lomax's secretary
- Boris Anchoukoff, Prince Michael's valet
Twists and Turns:
- Who expected Anthony Cade to be Prince Nicholas Obolovitch, Prince Michael's cousin and heir to the Herzoslovakian throne? I certainly didn't.
- Mademoiselle Brun's name is seemingly cleared when Anthony Cade gets her credentials from her former employer and she hardly appears in the rest of the novel, but she turns out to be the former Queen Varaga of Herzoslovakia who staged her death, and an accomplice of King Victor.
- The bundle of love letters supposedly written by Virginia Revel are not written by her at all. Instead of being an innocent bundle of letters, they turn out to be letters that Queen Varaga wrote in code to King Victor.
- The suspicious peeping Frenchman who seems to be a suspect turns out to be Monsieur Lemoine, a French detective. But there's a second twist. He's not the detective after all, but King Victor himself. The real Monsieur Lemoine was kidnapped.
- Hiram Fish's actions are rather suspicious, and being a collector of first editions is a masquerade. But he turns out to be an American detective.
- All those Comrades of the Red Hand who appear at the start are thugs, but they barely feature in this story that focuses on royalty and aristocracy.
- Both the loyalists and the revolutionists want to steal Count Stylptich's memoirs, apprehensive of the secrets they will reveal, but they turn out to be boring reflections on statecraft.
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is rather silly, but so are the plots of several of the other early Agatha Christie books like The Secret Adversary and The Man in the Brown Suit. I just take the silliness in my stride, not overthink things that would be serious to us but that Christie treats with frivolity, laugh at the quirky characters, accept that racism was widespread and accepted in that era, and just enjoy the books as cozy reading.
I really liked Anthony Cade. He's another one of the Christie's early over-confident characters, but unlike some of the others who are arrogant, Anthony is just a brave, talented and daring fellow. Virginia Revel, with her brains and wit, made an excellent companion. I can't imagine the two as King and Queen of Herzoslovakia, but they seem up to the task!
jane_pendragon's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
hannahboni's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
robbiemay's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
karenholmes's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it, but it was a bit of a cheat because we do get inside some characters thoughs and they don't betray what the author doesn't want to. But anyway, a fun read nontheless.
It felt a bit like a theatre play, with characters popping to and from the stage. Characters were too exagerated. I think Agatha later in life was much more subtle with her characters.
It felt a bit like a theatre play, with characters popping to and from the stage. Characters were too exagerated. I think Agatha later in life was much more subtle with her characters.
susangiardina's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was not one of Christie's better books. Too many characters, plot flips, hard to follow and the end is not exciting after a weak build-up.
highlandmeg's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
bibliocamera's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t get through this one nearly as quickly as other Christie mysteries because it wasn’t nearly as polished. This is an early novel so although it’s intriguing and often ridiculous fun, it was also predictable.
fergie1234's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
elenavillan's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0